Captain's Log

Sep-16

21 June 2016

Day 6 – Lady Musgrave Island

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to day six of our voyage. Overnight we enjoyed a very pleasant sail in relatively calm conditions which gave everyone a chance to consolidate a little more sail work and be challenged by our BEAREX which is a teamwork and communication exercise.

By sunrise we were located only 15nm to the south of Lady Musgrave Island which is where we ran out of wind and had to use the engines to get us to our anchorage which was just at the entrance of Lady Musgraveâ€™s coral lagoon.

Once at anchor the Youth Crew were given a boat safety brief and a quick demonstration from Horto and myself on â€˜three way chatsâ€™ then they were all ferried ashore to the beautiful Lady Musgrave Island where they completed mid voyage chats then were given the opportunity to explore the island, snorkel inside the coral lagoon or just enjoy lying about on the beach.

By 1215 everyone was safely back onboard and following lunch we conducted another round of â€˜semi competitiveâ€™ rope races. Later that afternoon we held an entertaining round of â€˜three way chatsâ€™ (Getting to Know you and communication exercise) then just prior to sunset weighed anchor and commenced an overnight 90nm passage to Great Keppel Island which will be our next anchorage.

Currently we are located 18nm to the north west of Lady Musgrave Island motor sailing in extremely light conditions.

Volunteering to write an entry in tonightâ€™s Captains Log is Sophie and Nathan from White Watch, please enjoy!

Until tomorrow, take care

Yours Aye

Captain Gav

CAPTAINâ€™S LOG â€“ 21 JUN 16

What a beautiful day we had today! After anchoring early this morning at Lady Musgrave Island, us Young Endeavour youthies were chuffed to step onto the sweet steady land â€“ despite our sea legs leading some of us astray. Snorkelling in the coral reefs was definitely a highlight topped off with swimming around and getting underwater selfies with the biggest most placid sea turtle any of us have ever seen. Thank goodness we have all surpassed gut wrenching sea sickness as we ALL, for the first time together, were able to appreciate Jenkoâ€™s amazing cooking. Those wraps for lunch today really hit the spot!

Rope races are continuing to be more and more competitive as we collectively start to understand this intricate and magnificent ship. Todayâ€™s round finished off with a special bonus point wherein all watches had to hoist 8 shoes tied to a flag halyard above the head of the self proclaimed â€˜The Manâ€™ (AKA The Tangalooma Princess AKA Horto). Blue watch rose to the challenge and secured the bonus mark! Woo!

To finish off an already amazing day, blue watch laid aloft to the lower top platform, chilled back and witnessed the moon rising into the suns stains of the early night.

With every day proving to be full of new experiences, we canâ€™t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Sophie & Nathan

To TS Pioneer Navy Cadets, Hi guys; I donâ€™t know if youâ€™re reading the blog, but Iâ€™m having a spectacular time sailing the seven seas (so to speak). Iâ€™ll have so many stories to tell you when I get back. Until then; stay fabulous! PS, seasickness is mean! From Leading Seamen Hayley Rooney

To Nic â€˜13 18 24 22 5 22 9 2 12 13 22 18 8 11 15 26 2 18 13 20 17 6 13 20 15 22 8 11 22 22 23 8 12 12 13 7 19 22 8 19 18 11 4 18 15 15 25 22 14 18 13 22â€™ From Ben

To the Earl Fam, Iâ€™ve been looking at the stars every night (except when there was too much rain to see any stars), I hope you have been too. Thanks to Dad I have been able to teach other people to read the Southern Cross! Love from your seafaring daughter, Abbie. Seeya soon!

Latitude/Longitude:

23 46 S / 152 02 E

Conditions:

Currently located 18nm to the NW of Lady Musgrave Island and experiencing light and variable winds with .5m NNE swell. Our current speed is 5kts and the temperature is 14 degrees.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

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Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

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Day 6 – Lady Musgrave Island

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